


Eclipsed Souls

by Kyarorain



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-26
Updated: 2006-07-26
Packaged: 2018-02-18 18:39:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2358179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyarorain/pseuds/Kyarorain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the future, the Earth has been ruined and only Eggman remains. With the mysterious Soul Crystals, he returns to the present, putting the lives of Sonic and friends in grave peril.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

The wind howled through the small gathering of trees, hanging suspended in that moment of time before they would eventually break from their roots and fall. Further away, a trail of fallen trees covered the blackened ground beneath, piles of ash scattered over the dead bracken. A pile of shattered wood beams was all that remained of what had once been home to a cat. The river that had once run nearby was nothing more than a dried up path running through the ground.

The once mighty jungle had fallen to ruin and destruction.

The Mystic Ruins showed signs of destruction everywhere. The workshop of a two-tailed fox had been blown apart in an explosion. Craters littered the ground and rocks littered the ground by the cliffs where they had been blasted at. The train station was merely a pile of rubble, the train line broken down and lying across the ruined land.

The other end of that train line sat among the wreckage of Station Square's own train station. Station Square was in a sorry state. Buildings were gutted and empty, litter and debris trailed along the streets, and not a soul was seen among the devastation. This once proud city was now nothing more than an empty ghost town. Once Station Square had bounced back from ruination by Perfect Chaos, after months of hard labour and dedication from its residents, but this time, there had been nobody to revive it.

The devastation didn't end here. The entire planet had been engulfed in the wake of destruction and all that remained at the end was a blackened husk floating in space.

Only one living person remained, and he was not on the planet itself, but in a large ship that orbited the dead world.

Dr. Eggman leaned against the window pane, his greying moustache brushing against the grimy glass. Through the murky surface of this window, he could just make out the dead planet. How ironic that a planet he had hoped to rule was now nothing more than ruins.

Just how had that happened anyway? The mere memory had faded in the ravages of time, in a blur of confusion and mayhem. Eggman shook his head and walked away slowly, his joints creaking as he moved. For a moment, his blue glasses slid down his nose to reveal fiery orbs in pools of black. Eggman swiftly reached to move his glasses back up, hiding away the fire.

The visitor that arrived in a burst of flames. The predator from another planet. The powerful beast that had overwhelmed him.

  
He welcomed it. And it consumed him.

  
Now that Eggman's home planet was dead, the beast grew restless. It growled in the back of his mind, sending dissatisfied rumbles into his thoughts. It wanted to have some more fun.

  
Fun...

  
Eggman approached a capsule, filled with pulsing black crystals, and a grin spread on his face. The Soul Crystals before him finally had a purpose.

  
Time to have some fun.


	2. Chapter 2

Eclipsed Souls

 

"Curse that Sonic!" Eggman grumbled, rubbing his aching backside as he hobbled through one of the many hallways of his base. He had been foolish enough to supervise the action while sending yet another one of his robots to wreak terror upon the residents of Station Square. Sonic had arrived in no time at all and the mech had exploded, flying into Eggman and sending him flying. The Egg Mobile was unharmed, but he had suffered the indignation of falling out half-way to the ground and hitting a tree.

 

How many more days of endless humiliation was he going to have to endure? If only some new discovery was made and he had another tool for world domination. Preferably one that wouldn't turn on him and attempt to destroy the world.

 

Eggman approached a door and pushed a button, causing the door to slide sideways. He walked into the room, the door sliding shut behind him, and made his way to the large chair that sat in the middle of this room. With a sigh of relief, Eggman sank into the soft, comfortable chair and swung it around to face a control panel.

 

A row of panels transmitted live footage coming from the cameras situated through the base. Surveillance revealed that the base was undisturbed. Fortunately, Sonic had not discovered the base yet otherwise he would be tearing through here to destroy something, no doubt.

 

A warning beep sounded and Eggman frowned, leaning forwards to see a blinking light underneath one of the panels. Evidently, one of the cameras had sensed movement. It was difficult to see what was going on, but there was definitely a shadowy figure moving inside his base. It was too large to be a certain hedgehog or any of his furry friends.

 

"Bah," Eggman scowled and pushed a button, speaking into the microphone next to it. "Intruder in the base. Security robots, move forth and bring this intruder to me alive." He sat back, waiting for them to catch the trespasser, watching the camera footage in interest.

 

The figure stopped moving as the robots approached. Surprisingly, he flung out a hand and a surge of black smoke flew forth from his palm, tearing through the robots and reducing them to mere shrapnel.

 

"WHAAAAAA?" Eggman yelled, almost flying out of his seat. "Impossible! What is that thing?" He slammed a fist into the control panel angrily. "All those security robots I worked so hard on, smashed just like that?"

 

The intruder was closing in on the control room. Eggman swung the chair to face the door, a bead of perspiration shining on his head. This creature had come into his base and was paying him a visit, by the look of things. And to think they hadn't even called first to arrange an appointment. The nerve!

 

The door slid open again and the cloaked figure entered the room, remaining silent as the door slid shut once more.

 

"How dare you blow up my security guards and enter here without permission," Eggman raged, turning his head to look at a large robot standing in the corner. "E-128, deal with this pesky irritant!"

 

"Stop," The stranger held up a hand. E-128, who had been in the process of stomping over, stopped and swivelled its head to look at its master in confusion.

 

"Why should I stop?" Eggman grinned. "Have you come in here for a reason after all?"

 

"I am not a mere trespasser," The stranger responded. "I am a traveller from the future and I will be needing this base. It is exactly how I remembered it after all." He swung his hooded head to look around the control room, nodding in approval.

 

"Who are you?" Eggman demanded.

 

The stranger looked back at him and then he reached up to draw back his hood, revealing himself to be a bald man wearing blue spectacles, a white mustache sprouting from both sides of his head. "I am your future self, Dr. Eggman."

 

Eggman's mouth flapped open and shut, no sound coming out, as he gaped at his future self. He could actually travel through time at some point? Madness! "But... but... how?"

 

"I have a great power, one that you have not encountered yet," The future Eggman lowered his head, nudging his shades to reveal his flaming eyes. Eggman flinched as he saw the fire burning away inside those eyes. Never before could he recall having seen eyes like those on anybody, let alone himself. "Travelling through time is a simple task for this visitor from another planet, who lives inside me."

 

"Another planet?" Eggman echoed. So the Black Arms weren't going to be the only aliens to have paid a visit to Earth after all. But what kind of alien was this? This seemed completely different to the Black Arms, who relied on laser guns.

 

"I have no time to explain things," Future Eggman sighed wearily and shook his head. He knew his past self would be very curious and try to find out as much as possible, even try to join in on the whole scheme, much like he had worked with Eggman Nega, his parallel self from another dimension. "I simply need you out of the way."

 

"Eh?" Eggman raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to see you try! E-128, shoot him!" An explosion was his only response. He slowly rotated to look at the smoking heap that had been the robot. "Aw, damn it."

 

"Enough," Future Eggman raised a hand. He closed his eyes and focused, the beast grumbling quietly inside him as it used its power. Eggman released a cry of disbelief as a dark sphere surrounded him and then it vanished in a burst of light, along with Eggman. "He is secure now. I will not have any interruptions."

 

A tube stood in the middle of the control room, with a control panel attached to it. Future Eggman strolled over to the panel and pushed some buttons. A mechanical whine sounded as the tube slid upwards. Future Eggman reached into a pocket and drew out a pouch, untying the strings that secured it.

 

The Soul Crystals lay inside the pouch, glimmering darkly. Future Eggman carefully reached in to grab them and then placed them on the display counter, sealing them in beneath the tube as it slid back down.

 

"Excellent," Future Eggman smirked, placing the pouch aside. "Sonic and his miserable friends will not know what has hit them. Once more I can enjoy the pleasure of witnessing destruction and pain. But it won't hurt to toy with them first."


	3. Chapter 3

Eclipsed Souls

 

The E-Series robot walked silently down the street, the sun glinting off its polished armor. Fortunately for this strange mech, the only attention it received in the street was the occasional frightened or suspicious look. The people of Station Square were used to seeing Eggman's robots prowling around the area, but that didn't mean they feared them any less and often suspected some kind of foul play on Eggman's part coming up.

 

The robot stopped at an intersection and swivelled its head both ways, checking its databank for directions. After recalling the target's location, the robot resumed its passage towards the apartment where the target lived. It walked into the building and to an elevator, which was empty. The robot's mechanical hand hovered over the floor selection panel before jabbing a large round button with the number 4 firmly engraved upon it. The doors slid shut and the elevator slid up with a gentle hum.

 

Cream the Rabbit leaned on the table, propping herself up upon her toes, and peered over the side of the bowl. A generous amount of frosting sat inside the bowl, a rich brown in colour. Cream sighed, licking her lips as she stared at the chocolate frosting.

 

"Chao?" Cheese, Cream's pet chao, glanced at Cream from his position upon the table. "Chao, chao."

 

"It looks so tasty, Cheese," Cream muttered to the little chao, a wistful look on her face. She stepped away from the table and shrugged, grinning sheepishly. "Mom always tells me not to touch frosting though. And... I don't think Amy would be very happy, because she's working so hard on that cake for Mister Sonic... and I don't want to make Amy cross."

 

"Chao..." Cheese's eyes widened at the thought and he suddenly looked a little fearful. Amy's wrath was not something to be incurred, especially with that destructive hammer as her preferred weapon of choice.

 

"I'm back!" Amy called as she stepped into the apartment, shutting the door behind her and then walking into the kitchen. "Huff... can't believe I forgot the sponge mix. That was silly of me." Amy placed the large sachet of sponge mix on the table and then kneeled over to catch her breath.

 

"Did you take the stairs, Amy?" Cream inquired.

 

"Of course!" Amy brushed a stray quill from her face and straightened herself. "I have to keep in shape so that Sonic won't go off me. That would be so terrible if it happened. Anyway, let's start making the cake! And then Sonic will be so impressed with my cooking skills, he'll ask me to move in with him and cook for him straight away." Amy sighed dreamily as this thought occured to her.

 

The cake making process passed without a hitch and Cream and Cheese went to the lounge to watch TV and relax after spending several minutes in a hot kitchen, while Amy anxiously fussed and watched the oven.

 

"Chao!" Cheese bounced onto a cushion and grabbed the remote. He paused and stared at the button before decisively hitting a large red one. The TV flickered into life, showing a news broadcast. There was little more than a report of one of Eggman's robots sighted in the area and a warning for people to be careful.

 

"I want to watch the Next show!" Cream took the remote and frowned. "But I forgot which channel it was on." A soft click startled her and she turned, her eyes widening as the door opened. However, all she saw was a strange ripple in the air and the soft sound of an object hitting the floor repeatedly. Was it... invisible?

 

"Chao!" Cheese flew towards the sound of soft footsteps, aiming to hit whatever it was. However, something unseen swished through the air towards him and smacked him, sending him flying back across the room.

 

"Cheese!" Cream lunged forwards and caught the chao neatly in her arms. "Are you okay?" Cheese's response was to emit a soft sound, eyelids fluttering weakly. "You'll be okay, Cheese, it's okay."

 

"What is happening?" Amy stomped out, an annoyed expression on her face as she wielded the large yellow Piko Piko hammer. "I am busy making a cake for my dear Sonic and I will not allow any evildoers to ruin it for me!"

 

The robot shimmered into view as it dropped its invisibility shield and swiveled its head towards Amy, eyes flickering rapidly. "Target recognised, Amy Rose. Mission, capture the target and take to Eggman."

 

"You won't get a chance!" Amy sailed towards the robot, swinging the hammer with all her might. A large black shield suddenly appeared around the robot and the hammer bounced off. Amy fell to the ground, looking shocked. "Huh?"

 

"Do not resist capture," The robot reached out with a large, mechanical claw and grabbed Amy, forcefully lifting her off the ground.

 

"Amy!" Cream exclaimed. "Put her down, you mean robot!"

 

The robot ignored Cream and trundled towards the window, Amy screaming all the while. Cream attempted to try and prevent the robot from moving forwards, but it merely batted her aside and then leaped through the window, glass smashing and flying all over the place.

 

"AMY!" Cream shouted, watching in horror as the robot disappeared below.

 

"Chao!" Cheese cried anxiously.

 

"This is bad, Cheese," Cream jumped to her feet. "We have to tell Mister Sonic at once. Oh, but I have to turn the oven off first otherwise there will be a fire!" She ran into the kitchen and did so, before exiting the apartment with Cheese following behind.


	4. Chapter 4

Eclipsed Souls

 

Cream panted as she ran the length of the street towards the train station, her small legs already worn out from the distance she had covered. In a situation like this, she couldn't simply slow down. As Cream eventually reached the steps, she launched herself off the ground and flapped her long ears, flying towards the doors. Cream had to throw out her arms to prevent herself from colliding with the doors and landed safely, entering the building.

 

The station was crowded and noisy. Cream grimaced, clutching Cheese close to her chest, as she wriggled her way through the many legs and sticky faced kids that were obstacles between her and the train. She couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief as she ran up the stairs, her side hurting where a lady's handbag had accidentally whacked her.

 

The train was not currently in the station. Cream frowned and walked up to the conductor, "Excuse me, Mister Conductor, can you tell me when the next train is coming?"

 

"Don't worry, kiddo," The conductor chuckled and patted Cheese on the head. Cheese squeaked and burrowed further into Cream's arms. He liked humans, but he didn't like it when strange humans suddenly patted him out of nowhere. "That's a cute Chao you have there, young miss. The train will be coming in a couple of minutes, okay?"

 

"Okay," Cream forced a smile. That was an extra two minutes the robot had to get away with Amy, but what choice did she have? She would just have to wait for the train to arrive. The little rabbit sighed quietly and went to sit down. The red steel seat was uncomfortable and cold against her legs and she was sitting next to a man with bad breath who talked loudly in a cellphone. Cream closed her eyes and focused on thinking of something else.

 

Two minutes later, the train rattled into the station right on time. Cream leaped off the seat and stood in front of the train, waiting as people surged out through the train doors. Eventually, the train was vacated and she hopped onto the train and quickly found herself an empty seat. Fortunately, as the train moved again, the seat next to Cream had remained empty. Sitting next to a noisy man with bad breath had not been pleasant.

 

"Do you think I should have told the man about his breath?" Cream murmured, looking down at Cheese with a worried expression. "Maybe he didn't know about it and he's going to walk around all day with it like that."

 

"Chao?" Cheese looked at her doubtfully. "Chao, chao."

 

"I suppose you're right," Cream replied quietly. "I would just have hurt the man's feelings and he was busy talking into his cell anyway. I hope Amy is okay." She tightened her grip on Cheese a little and buried her face in his soft, blue fur.

 

The train eventually reached the Mystic Ruins. Cream ran towards Tails's workshop as fast as she could, feeling quite panicky. The train had taken five minutes to reach the Mystic Ruins, and with all the time she'd spent getting from Amy's apartment to the workshop, who knew what had happened to Amy during then?

 

"Hi, Cream!" Tails waved from his deckchair outside the workshop, lowering his shades as he looked at the little rabbit. It was quite a warm day and the Tornado was in perfect condition, so he could happily relax like this. Tails noticed Cream's expression. "What's the matter?"

 

"Amy's been kidnapped!" Cream sobbed out, her eyes filling with tears. "One of Dr. Eggman's robots just burst into her apartment and took her away! Where's Mister Sonic?"

 

"Sonic's out right now," Tails swung his legs over the deckchair and got up. "Don't worry, Cream, I'm sure Eggman won't hurt Amy." He put his hands on her shoulders in an effort to comfort her. "Amy's going to be okay."

 

"Yeah," Cream sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I know Mister Sonic will go save her right away. But that robot was so scary. It could even go invisible and it shielded itself from Amy's hammer with some weird kind of barrier!"

 

"Really?" Tails raised an eyebrow. He supposed that Eggman might have programmed a barrier into a robot eventually, although they had not yet encountered that kind of difficulty, but since when did Eggman make invisible robots? Even Tails, a master mechanic, could not figure out how to create such an advanced stealth system.

 

"Uh huh," Cream nodded. "It was weird. Is Dr. Eggman coming up with new ideas?"

 

"Hmm," Tails stepped back, frowning intently, his arms crossed over his chest. There was something fishy about this tale. Eggman had apparently developed advanced technology without warning. But how? How could he have figured it out so soon? It was something even Tails hadn't come close to discovering. A chill ran down his spine and he shivered. "Yeah, it is quite strange. Where is Eggman getting this new stuff?"

 

Cheese let out a squeak of happiness. Cream looked in the direction that the chao was currently pointing out wildly.

 

"Mister Sonic!" Cream cried out joyfully.

 

"Hey!" Sonic approached and skidded to a halt. "Does your Mom know you're all the way out here, Cream?"

 

"Sonic, Eggman seems to be-" Tails blurted out suddenly, still thinking of Eggman's strange new tactics.

 

"Amy's been kidnapped!" Cream wailed, her cries drowning out Tails's exclamation. "One of Dr. Eggman's robots grabbed her from her apartment and it said it was taking her to him."

 

"Again?" Sonic said wearily, yet a flash of worry passed momentarily through his green eyes. What could Eggman want Amy for this time? The first time, she was bait to pit Sonic against his robotic double, and the second time, she just happened to have a bird carrying a Chaos Emerald.

 

"That's not all," Tails spoke more calmly this time. "Cream said that the robot had some sort of barrier it used to block Amy's hammer and it also had a stealth mode built in that could make it completely invisible. We don't normally fight robots capable of such things."

 

"Well, I better head over to Eggman's base and rescue Amy! Cream, stay here with Tails, I'll take you home when I get back. See you!" Sonic turned and sped away, disappearing into the vast area that was the Mystic Ruins.

 

"Mister Sonic comes and goes so fast," Cream blinked. "Well, I hope he gets back with Amy soon, we've got to bake the cake for him together."

 

"Amy does know that baking Sonic a cake isn't the way to get him to fall in love with her, right?" Tails frowned and shook his head. "She's always coming up with little schemes."

 

"Amy hoped that Mister Sonic would like it so much, he would ask her to move in with him and cook his meals," Cream responded with a sheepish smile. Tails let out a weary sigh.


	5. Chapter 5

Eclipsed Souls

 

Amy awoke slowly, feeling groggy as she roused from slumber. For a moment, she thought she must have fallen asleep in the kitchen while the cake was baking. How silly of her. Hopefully, it wasn't burned, she couldn't possibly present a burnt cake to her dear Sonic.

 

Then Amy shifted and her back slid against a smooth surface that felt like glass. She also became aware that she was actually sitting on the floor, not a chair. Amy's eyes flew open and she looked around in surprise.

 

"Where am I?" Amy exclaimed, shakily getting to her feet. She must have fainted while the robot was carrying her. It was a bumpy journey and the robot was holding her pretty tight. Evidently, he had reached Eggman's base without interruption and now Amy seemed to be in some glass tube. It was sealed shut upon a small metal podium.

 

Amy peered through the glass, looking at the scene in front of her. There appeared to be a row of tubes alongside hers against one wall. There was another tube in the centre of the room that contained several small jewels, all of them a deep black. Assorted machinery and control panels littered the room.

 

"I'd better get out of here," Amy stepped back with a confident smile on her face and flicked her wrist. The Piko Piko Hammer appeared in her hand. Amy gripped the handle with both hands and swung with all her might, aiming the hammer's head directly at the glass. However, the hammer merely bounced off with a thud. "Oh, come on!" Amy started fiercely attacking the tube with the hammer, but she couldn't even make a single crack.

 

"It's useless to try," A gravelly voice interrupted Amy's furious attempt to escape. Amy stopped what she was doing and looked up angrily to see Future Eggman. Her expression changed to surprise.

 

"Dr. Eggman?" Amy blinked, pressing her nose against the tube. "You look different. But I don't care! Let me out of here right now, Sonic will be here any minute and he'll really hurt you for capturing his dear girlfriend!"

 

"I had forgotten how delusional you used to be," Future Eggman laughed. "How surprised you're going to be in the future. But enough of that, would you like to be a gineau pig for my brand new scheme? It's been so long since I've been able to try anything out."

 

"Future?" Amy blinked in confusion. "I don't get it. Have you been messing with the Time Stones again? Are you Eggman from the future? But where's Eggman? Is he in the future?"

 

"No, he is still within this base," Future Eggman responded. "I did not want my past self interfering with this beautiful plan of mine. And I shall not tell you how I have managed to travel through time, but it did not involve the Time Stones. Now are you ready for a little game?"

 

"Hmm, let me think," Amy tapped her chin as if seriously considering. "I really appreciate your offer but, no. I can't forgive you for sending a robot over and capturing me when I was busy baking a cake for Sonic! Now let me out of this tube at once!"

 

"Oh, cease your whining," Future Eggman approached the large tube containing the jewels and opened it up. He reached into the cluster of jewels and paused for a moment as if selecting the right one. Eventually, Future Eggman withdrew his hand, holding a crystal in his palm, and approached Amy. "Do you know what this is?"

 

"Um, a jewel?" Amy guessed, raising an eyebrow.

 

"Not quite," Future Eggman chuckled darkly. "This is a Soul Crystal. This jewel merely contains the essence of someone's soul. It can be removed upon the host's death and the colour of the jewel represents their heart and feelings at the time they left the world. What colour is the jewel?"

 

"Brightly coloured fuchsia," Amy responded snappishly. "With a bit of an orange tint. And I can definitely see a red speck or two."

 

"The jewel is black," Future Eggman ignored Amy. "This means that when the host died, they may have been feeling sadness certainly and even anger. The anger and sadness polluted the soul and when it was drawn out, it looked like this and will remain like this."

 

Amy fell quiet, looking solemn. Somebody who had died feeling anger and sadness... her eyes brimmed with tears. "Eggman... did you... do that to them? Did you kill them... and make them feel that way as they died?"

 

"I didn't do anything!" Future Eggman responded with a grin. "It was a fine robot of mine that did a very efficient job. She felt that way all by herself."

 

"You're terrible," Amy hung her head and sniffled. "I can't believe you actually become like that. Killing innocent people then showing off the anger and sadness in their hearts, keeping it as a trinket! It's terrible!"

 

"Take this," Future Eggman raised his hand and the crystal floated from his palm, hovering towards the tube. Amy gasped as it slipped through the glass tube with a ripple effect and then hovered towards her chest.

 

"What... how are you doing that?" Amy backed up against the tube, her fearful gaze fixed on the hovering crystal.

 

"Part of the reason I could time travel," Future Eggman responded mysteriously. "Soul Crystal, attach."

 

The Soul Crystal latched onto Amy's chest and she let out a cry as she felt a piercing pain slice through her chest. It felt like it was cutting right through her heart. Amy whimpered and tried to reach for the crystal with a shaky hand, but a fresh burst of agony sent spasms through her body and she once more went rigid.

 

"Do you know who this Soul Crystal belongs to?" Future Eggman spoke loudly over her screams. "Your future self. When your future self's soul comes into contact with your body, it attempts to merge with your own soul. Do you wish to know why you feel so much anger and sadness when you die in the future?"

 

"N... no..." Amy gasped out, tears slipping down her face. "I don't want to... see... my death..." Her vision went dark and she fell to the ground, her eyes sliding shut. Future Eggman smiled wider. She couldn't resist, no matter how hard she wanted to.

 

Amy's eyes fluttered open and she briefly looked down, startled by her appearance. Not just that, she was standing in the grassy open. These clothes... whose were they? This dress was red like hers, but made of a different fabric and instead of curving up at the end, it clung to her thighs. Not only that, but she noticed her chest was bigger.

 

A stray pink quill fell over her shoulder and her hand reached up to brush it back. Amy was hit with the sudden realisation that she was in her own body, but not exactly. This was herself in the future. She was seeing the future through her future self's eyes.

 

"Hey, Sonic!" Amy's mouth moved of its own accord and she moved further ahead, looking up now. Sonic stood in front of her, slightly older in appearance with longer quills. They seemed to be in the Mystic Ruins in the daytime.

 

"Uh... Amy," Sonic smiled faintly. "You came all the way over here to see me?"

 

"You're not doing anything right now, are you?" Amy clasped her hands together. "Sonic, there's a new attraction at Twinkle Park. Do you want to come and see it with me?

 

Sonic immediately looked startled. Amy felt the familiar irritation rise inside her. Sonic never wanted to do anything with her. "Um... heh, sorry, but I can't really afford it right now. I lent Tails money to buy parts for his plane."

 

"Ohh..." Amy felt disappointed now. "Why do you never want to spend any time with me? Don't you like me?"

 

"Whoah, whoah," Sonic exclaimed. "I'm telling the truth, really, I..."

 

A mechanical hum sounded through the air and a large robot landed on the ground, its red eyes glinting in the sunlight. "Mission, exterminate the hedgehogs," The robot droned.

 

"Ah!" Amy gritted her teeth. "Eggman sent one of his robots over. How annoying!" She flicked a wrist, the hammer appearing in her hand.

 

"I'll deal with this bucket of bolts!" Sonic waved a hand at her. "Stay back, Amy!"

 

"Stay back?" Amy muttered huffily as Sonic charged at the robot. "He refuses the date and then he insinuates I'm weak? Sonic, you idiot!"

 

Sonic almost impacted with the robot but with a lightning swift motion, the robot pressed its palm against Sonic's belly. Sonic went flying backwards and fell to his knees, a dart sticking out of his stomach.

 

"Damn that Eggman and his stupid tricks!" Sonic wrenched the dart out of his stomach with a stilted motion. "Whoah... what's this tingling... ah..." He got to his feet and started moving jerkily, a flash of panic in his eyes.

 

"I'll help you, Sonic!" Amy rushed towards the robot, angrily swinging the hammer. "How dare you trick Sonic like that, you mean junk bucket!" The robot swiftly moved and fired a laser, which skimmed past her ear, narrowly singing the flesh. "Oww!" Amy stopped and put a hand over the sore spot, looking pained.

 

"Amy Rose will be exterminated at once," The robot droned. "Sonic the Hedgehog, this is your last chance to save the girl."

 

Sonic remained silent. Amy stared at Sonic, who was completely still. She felt a surge of confusion, surprise and anger. Why was Sonic just standing there?

 

"Sonic?" Amy spoke querulously. He didn't even look at her. "Sonic, why..."

 

The robot's arm lowered and the laser gun fired once more with a loud bang. Amy felt her body lift and fly into the air, an explosion of pain throbbing away in her chest. She seemed to be flying in slow motion. Droplets of blood flew from her body. Her eyes swelled with tears.

 

Sonic... didn't save me. Sonic didn't even try. Sonic didn't want to go on the date.

 

He doesn't even love me...

 

Or like me...

 

Does he...

 

Does Sonic hate me?

 

Her body thudded to the ground and she rolled over on her side, tears splashing onto the ground. The sparkling of her tears on the ground, pool of blood that slowly appeared by her body and her crimson dress stained even darker were the last things she saw before her eyes slid shut forever.

 

Sonic hates me.

 

The black crystal disappeared into the chest of the 12 year old Amy, still slumped unconscious against the tube. Her body immediately began to change, colour fading from her fur and quills to leave nothing more than a ghastly white, a tint of grey where there had been pink.

 

Amy's eyes fluttered open to reveal colourless eyes, nothing more than the pupils in those empty pools of white.

 

Future Eggman grinned as he looked upon the tragic sight of a heartbroken, empty shell with a dark soul and then he laughed. Amy was lost to the darkness of her ruined soul and all she would remember was the hatred and sadness she felt from her future self as she died.


	6. Chapter 6

Eclipsed Souls

 

Sonic approached the large cylindical building positioned close to the rainforest. A guard patrol of assorted, small robots marched around the building, scanning the area for lifeforms. This was clearly Eggman's base. Sonic had been aware of its presence for a while now, but he wasn't going to attack unless Eggman actually tried something. The doctor did deserve a roof over his head when he wasn't chasing down furry anthropomorphs with various mechs and attempting world domination.

 

Well, he had certainly tried something now and Sonic was going to march right in there and get Amy back. He leaped right into the clearing and several robots immediately turned and fired lasers and missiles in his general direction. Sonic dodged the lasers and ran to get some distance before kneeling over and revving on the spot.

 

The robots charged at the spinning blue ball, little noticing the lights that swirled around Sonic. They were barely a meter away when Sonic suddenly stood up, surrounded by a light blue aura.

 

"Ready..." Sonic sprang off the ground. "Go!" He started whirling around the robots, tearing through the machinery and ripping them apart limb by limb. In just under five seconds, his powerful Light Speed attack had reduced most of the enemies to scrap metal. Sonic stood among the wreckage and dusted off his hands with a grin. "Eggman really needs to get some better security," Sonic commented cockily.

 

Ignoring the renmants of the guard patrol, who were mostly cowering in fear at the blue hedgehog and shying from him in fear of being destroyed like their comrades, Sonic charged towards the entrance to the base and entered through the sliding door. He sped down the corridor, ignoring the various cameras that tracked his direction. Occasionally, a sentry robot leaped down in front of him, but Sonic simply blasted through their chest with a Spin Attack and continued on his way.

 

As Sonic ran onwards, the thought occured to him that this was going awfully easily. "So, it's a trap, huh?" Sonic guessed. "Well, I've got to save Amy anyway, so I don't care what kind of trap it is, Eggman! I'm still going to come and kick your butt!" The blue hedgehog arrived at an intersection and paused, wondering which way to go. He heard a soft sound coming from the right and cocked his head, trying to hear the sound clearly. It sounded like somebody crying. Amy? Had Eggman made her cry?

 

"Eggman," Sonic growled, rushing off towards the source of the crying. It grew louder and then stopped. Sonic skidded around a corner and stopped as he spotted a small figure in the distance. A young hedgehog girl, wearing red. "Amy!" Sonic exclaimed, dashing towards the captive. So, she had freed herself from Eggman's clutches? She really was getting better at this.

 

The girl turned around and Sonic skidded to a halt. This wasn't Amy. This girl was a dull whitish colour. But she had Amy's dress, Amy's shoes, even the red headband. And she was the same size and wore the same hairstyle.

 

"Sonic," The hedgehog girl hissed, snapping her head upwards and looking directly at Sonic with her colourless eyes, rage silently smouldering behind those wide black pupils.

 

"A... Amy?" Sonic faltered, taking a step back. That voice, it sounded like Amy's, but it didn't have the perky, upbeat tone to it that he knew so well. It sounded flat and dead, like she had lost all hope in the world and just given up. "No, you can't be Amy, but you look and sound almost like her. What... who are you? Are you really Amy?"

 

"You bastard!" Amy screeched, raising a tightly clenched fist and swinging it through the air. A shot of black lightning surged from her hand and fired at Sonic. Sonic yelped in surprise and dived out of the way. The lightning impacted with the floor and left behind a black smoking circle, a wisp of smoke rising from the centre.

 

"What are you trying to do, barbecue me?" Sonic looked at the black circle incredulously. If it was Amy, how could she possibly have that kind of power? Had Eggman done something to her, infused her with something? What kind of things had he discovered to be able to make invisible robots with barriers and superpowers? And Amy's change in appearance made it even more disturbing.

 

"How could you?" Amy leaped forwards with surprising speed, catching Sonic off guard. He narrowly dodged aside and Amy thudded to the ground. She got up on her hands and knees, shaking violently as she looked up at Sonic. "How could could you let me die?" Sonic paused, his jaw hanging slack in surprise at her words, and Amy took that moment to fire another shot of lightning. Sonic let out a cry of pain as the lightning singed his side. "Do you feel pain?" Amy got to her feet, smiling sadistically. "Do you feel the pain I felt, Sonic?"

 

This wasn't like Amy at all. Sonic had no idea what she was saying. Amy had no reason to hate him, let alone attack him like this, and what was that about letting her die? Sonic leaped aside to dodge another attack, wincing in pain. He couldn't stay here to battle this frightening girl that resembled Amy so much. Perhaps the real Amy was with Eggman after all. He had to go and find Eggman right away.

 

"Eggman must be close by," Sonic started running, a hail of lightning bolts striking the ground behind him. He started running faster, gritting his teeth against the intense pain that shot through his side. The sound of running footsteps indicated that this fake Amy was giving chase. How was she able to keep up with him? Sonic was going to get all the answers out of Eggman. A lightning bolt fell to the side, narrowly missing Sonic. "Damn, she's good at this!"

 

Eventually, Sonic reached a door that slid open when he approached and burst in, stopping as a room full of machinery and assorted equipment greeted him. He looked around, staring at all the tubes and controls that littered the room. In the middle, a display of crystals glittered darkly as they sat inside a tube. Sonic curiously approached the tube and flattened his nose against the glass as he peered at the strange jewels. What were these?

 

"Well, if it isn't my old nemesis, Sonic!" A familiar booming voice greeted Sonic and he spun around to see the evil doctor walk into the room.

 

"Eggman!" Sonic exclaimed, taking in his appearance with mild surprise. Eggman seemed slightly shorter, had wrinkle lines on his face and his mustache was greying. "You've changed since the last time I saw you. I guess old age's finally catching up to you."

 

"You idiot!" Future Eggman said derisively. "Do you really think my body could have changed this fast in a few months? Think harder, you miserable little hedgehog."

 

"Where is Amy?" Sonic demanded, not in the mood for a conversation with Eggman. "What have you done to her, Eggman?"

 

"She is right here," Future Eggman turned to the doorway and gestured for someone to come closer. He stepped inside and moved to the side to allow in the hedgehog girl that had attacked Sonic before. "This is Amy, your girlfriend that you came to rescue as I thought you would."

 

Sonic froze, feeling as if something in his chest had fallen rapidly. "Wh... what?" That girl, her eyes burning with hate, her colourless appearance, that flat dead voice... all that... Amy had turned into this? "No... you're lying, Eggman! There's no way that's Amy! Amy doesn't hate me, she wouldn't attack me, and she doesn't look like that!"

 

"Oh, come on, Sonic," Future Eggman sighed in irritation. "I didn't remember you being this slow. You fail to comprehend that I am not the Eggman of your time and now you can't even recognise the girl before you. How else can you explain the fact that she is the exact same size as Amy, wears her own clothes, and even already knows who you are?"

 

"What did you do to her?" Sonic clenched his fists, shaking with horror and anger. "What did you do to turn her into that?"

 

"Her soul has become dark," Future Eggman responded. "It has been reduced to a mere manifestation of intense grief and hatred. She feels hatred towards you, Sonic. Can you feel it burning away inside her, her desire to destroy you with her bare hands? She no longer remembers the love and happiness she used to have."

 

"No..." Sonic stepped forwards, looking horrified. "Amy! Come back to your senses!"

 

"Put him out of commision," Future Eggman ordered Amy. "Don't kill him, just at least knock him out."

 

"Gladly," Amy cracked her knuckles then darted forwards, pulsing lightning bursting forth from one hand.

 

"Amy!" Sonic yelled, as a ball of lightning surged past his head. He leaped aside and hit the ground, wincing as the burn on his side reminded him of its presence. He quickly jumped up and backed away as more lightning bolts struck at him. Sonic looked tensely at Amy as she charged at him, trying to think about what he should do. Fighting Amy was not an option, hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do. Sonic leaped forwards and grabbed Amy by the arms, gazing into her blank eyes.

 

Amy stared into Sonic's green eyes, a look of confusion on her face. Sonic's pulse quickened as he noticed. Was she coming back to her senses?

 

"Amy," Sonic said loudly. "You've got to come back now. Don't listen to Eggman. Don't hate me, Amy. I don't know why you hate me, I've never wanted you to do such a thing, but whatever I did, I really didn't mean to hurt you."

 

"Sonic..." Amy said softly, her mouth twitching in a smile.

 

"Amy?" Sonic relaxed visibly. "Are you back?" Sure enough, her face was no longer twisted in malice and she wasn't looking at him in disgust anymore. Sonic smiled in relief. "Thank goodness." His hands fell from her arms and his grip on her was released.

 

"Oh, Sonic!" Amy flung her arms around him. Sonic braced himself as her body weight fell against him. He didn't see the menacing grin that appeared on Amy's face and was unaware as she suddenly pressed her hands against his sides. Black lightning surged from her hands and Sonic was engulfed in the current of lightning that flew out of Amy.

 

"AAAH!" Sonic screamed in agony, thrown backwards by the jolt of electricity. He thudded painfully to the ground and lay twitching, sparks of lightning still dancing along his body. He was confused. What was happening? Amy moved into his blurred line of vision and kneeled besides him, grinning wickedly.

 

"Burn in hell, Sonic," Amy spat, pressing her hand against Sonic's stomach. Another flow of electricity burst out of her hand, at lower voltage this time, and travelled through Sonic's body. Sonic cried out in pain once more and twitched erratically before slipping into unconsciouness. The task done, Amy reluctantly stepped back. How she longed to finish him off, but he was wanted alive.

 

"Perfect," Future Eggman smirked, as he pressed a button and a containment tube slowly slid upwards. "Now to contain him. When he wakes up, I have a little show arranged for him."


	7. Chapter 7

Eclipsed Souls

 

Knuckles moved quietly through a cover of trees, hidden well by the dense foliage of the Mystic Ruins jungle. His eyes darted back and forth as he sought out any tell tale signs of treasure. A glint caught his eye and Knuckles quickly darted forwards.

 

Whatever it was, it was mostly buried under the earth by now. Knuckles dug into the soil and retrieved the shiny object, brushing off the soil. His expression changed to disgust when he realised it was actually an old soda can.

 

"Treasure hunting would be easier if people didn't drop litter everywhere," Knuckles grumbled sourly, pocketing the can so he could throw it away later. He stood for a moment, enjoying the ethereal silence of the jungle, before he heard the rushing of wind as somebody darted past nearby at a speed that was common for a certain blue hedgehog.

 

"Sonic?" Knuckles rushed towards the sound and came to a path with dust flying up above. The fresh telltale marks of Sonic's tracks were still visible on the soft ground. Knuckles decided to follow the trail, wondering where Sonic could be rushing to in the jungle. He didn't have much love for this place either. Knuckles could climb on the cliffs, Tails could fly, but Sonic just got lost.

 

The trail took Knuckles just out of the jungle and he spotted Eggman's base close by. A mess of destroyed robots lying in a heap outside the base indicated that Sonic must have gone in. So it seemed that Eggman had to be up to something again. Knuckles ran towards the base and entered.

 

The red echidna quietly slinked alongside the wall, attempting to keep out of sight of the security camera. Once below, he climbed up and smashed the camera. Knuckles repeated the process as he moved on through the base, unhindered by any robots. It seemed that Sonic had already made swift work of them after all.

 

Something about this didn't seem right. Knuckles stopped at an intersection, frowning as he tried to think about what was bothering him. Perhaps it was the fact that everything was going smoothly. Where were all the traps, lasers and swarms of robots that tried to get rid of intruders?

 

Despite this niggling worry, Knuckles decided to continue on and took the left path. He passed a row of uninteresting looking doors, usually labeled with signs such as 'Storage' or 'Equipment'. Eggman would hardly be hatching some devious plot in those kind of places.

 

Knuckles stepped around a corner and froze as he saw a robot standing in front of a door. The robot had not yet noticed him, so Knuckles quietly sneaked up and then leaped forwards. The robot turned at the last moment and fired a laser blast which narrowly missed the echidna. Knuckles buried his fist in its mechanical chest and it sparked and twitched before exploding.

 

Kicking aside a piece of scrap metal, Knuckles looked at the door. There was no label on it, but clearly the robot was guarding something. This something had to be important, so without a second thought, he pushed a large button fixed on the wall and the door slid aside to reveal a flight of steps leading downwards. A row of dimly flickering lights enabled him to see his path.

 

Knuckles started going down at a run, halted in his tracks by a laser blast. He looked up in surprise to see a swarm of hovering machines firing lasers at him. Knuckles darted to the side, slammed his claws into the wall and pulled himself up, frantically climbing and dodging even more lasers while he did so. Once high enough, Knuckles pushed himself off the wall and turned in mid-air, gliding directly into the swarm and smashing them with his fists as they collided.

 

With all the robots destroyed, Knuckles allowed himself to drop back down and continued running. He reached another door at the end of the steps and slowly opened it, glancing into the room ahead. This room seemed to be an empty basement. Knuckles stepped into the centre of the basement, cautiously looking around. There were three doors in here.

 

Knuckles tried the first one, which slid open to reveal a room full of recreational activity equipment and an assortment of toys and games that Eggman obviously entertained himself with in his free time. Unless he had a special attachment to something in here, this wasn't what Knuckles was looking for.

 

Looking at the other two doors, Knuckles realised that one of the doors had a keyboard panel next to it. A password protected door had to lead what Eggman was hiding. Unless it was a portal to another Chao Garden, a la that little oddity on the Egg Carrier.

 

Knuckles peered at the key panel and then swiftly punched in "Eggman". For Eggman's IQ of 300, passwords were really not his strong point. True to suspicion, the screen above the keys displayed 'PASSWORD CORRECT' in bold green digital lettering. The door slid upwards, granting Knuckles entrance.

 

Knuckles stepped into the room, immediately noticing that this room was quite small and difficult to hide anything in. It was possibly meant to be some sort of containment room for keeping a prisoner in. There was a cot in one corner with only a thin blanket on it, and a bucket nearby. Knuckles wrinkled his nose and turned to look at the other side of the room, seeing a sink and then a figure sitting against the wall.

 

"Ah!" Knuckles exclaiming, his eyes widening as he recognised the figure. "Dr. Eggman?" What was Eggman doing in here?

 

Eggman blinked and snapped out of his daze, turning in surprise and staring in confusion at Knuckles. He came to himself and looked positively joyful. "Oh, Knuckles! You came to rescue me?"

 

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles scowled. "I wasn't saving you, I was coming to help Sonic ruin your latest evil plot! Spit it out, Eggman, what are you playing at?"

 

"Look at me, Knuckles," Eggman pleaded. "I'm trapped in one of my own prison rooms, unable to get out, confined in here. None of my robots came to save me. I've got a sore back from sleeping on that stupid cot and that bucket stinks!"

 

"Really?" Knuckles frowned, stepping forwards and wrinkling his nose as the smell got stronger. Staring at Eggman, Knuckles realised that the doctor did look quite pitiful and miserable. The cot also had a very visible imprint in it that resembled his bulk. Plus, the robots had been guarding the way down here. This certainly didn't seem like a hoax. "But who put you in here?"

 

"My future self," Eggman responded. "He came to the base out of nowhere and with a mere wave of his hand, he put me straight in here! He has powers far beyond anything I could understand, he even made it so that my own robots helped hold me hostage, so I couldn't interfere."

 

"Interfere?" Knuckles frowned and rubbed his chin. "So, you're saying that your self from the future is here and he's up to something? Then that must have been why Sonic came. Have you any idea what your future self is doing?"

 

"No," Eggman responded. "He didn't even want me to work with him, why do you think he put me in here? Sonic... he has no idea what he is going up against. I wouldn't be surprised if my future self would be the one to destroy that hedgehog after all, which is a shame, I thought I'd pull it off sooner."

 

"Sonic won't know what to expect," Knuckles said thoughtfully. "I should go to Tails's workshop and let him know. I have a feeling that Sonic's going to need some help." He turned around and walked towards the door.

 

"Wait!" Eggman cried out. "Are you just going to leave me all alone in this stinky room? I don't want to stay here! And I'm really hungry."

 

"Fine," Knuckles sighed in irritation. "You seem to have more experience with this future self than any of us do, I suppose you might be helpful. Come on, but I swear if you try anything funny or if you're tricking me again..."

 

"I get it, I get it!" Eggman cut Knuckles off hastily, anxiously following the echidna out of this dismal cell, wondering what he had been on when he had designed this room. Staying in here had been an absolute nightmare.

\--

 

Tails and Cream sat in the workshop, playing Go Fish with Tails's prized deck of cards that had been designed in honor of the heroes themselves. Eggman was included as well, but only as the Joker card. Cheese snoozed away on a pile of soft cushions.

 

A knock sounded on the door and they looked up in unison towards the door, wondering who could possibly be knocking in the desolate Mystic Ruins. Tails got up and approached the door, pulling it open to greet the visitor.

 

"Hey," Knuckles waved lightly. "I've got some news for you, Tails, and I've also brought somebody else along."

 

"Um, okay, come in," Tails said, his eyes shining with curiosity. Knuckles casually strolled in and leaned against the table, trying to hide the slight amusement he felt. Tails was going to get the shock of his life.

 

And Tails did, when Eggman shuffled through the door. The fox's initial reaction was to stare and splutter in shock, as Eggman looked around the workshop.

 

"Nice place, I suppose," Eggman muttered. "But it's a hovel compared to my base!" He chuckled.

 

"Ah! Dr. Eggman!" Cream exclaimed, her eyes widening in fright. "Mister Knuckles, why did you bring him to Tails's workshop?"

 

"Knuckles, what are you doing?" Tails demanded, a hint of anger in his voice. "Eggman just kidnapped Amy!"

 

"No, he didn't," Knuckles responded. "Not according to his tale."

 

"That's right!" Eggman cried. "Why would I waste my time capturing that silly delusional girl? She's only been useful as bait or carrying around that escaped bird with the Chaos Emerald."

 

"Then what's going on?" Cream held the now awake Cheese tightly to her chest. The little chao had woken up and seen Eggman then squeaked in alarm and flown to the rabbit's arms.

 

"It's a long story," Knuckles replied seriously. "Let's tell it sitting down, shall we? And I think Eggman needs something to eat too."

 

"Well, I've got some muesli," Tails said chirpily. "Muesli is very nutritious and wholesome. It's perfect." Seeing Eggman's crestfallen face just made it all even better. Nobody objected to the idea of feeding Eggman muesli either.

 

And as Eggman reluctantly ate, the sordid tale so far began to unfold and Knuckles, Tails and Cream learned of the visitor from the future and the strange powers. This strange tale left them somewhat shaken.

 

"Sonic hasn't got any idea what he's up against," Tails frowned. "We've got to help him."

 

"So we'll just bust in there and beat up the guy with strange powers?" Knuckles suggested.

 

"This is scary," Cream muttered, rubbing Cheese's head. "I hope Mister Sonic is okay."

 

"I've still got the Chaos Emeralds here from our last adventure," Tails almost spoke out loud, then looked at Eggman and leaned over to Knuckles, whispering the rest of the sentence in his ear.

 

"Great," Knuckles grinned and held his thumb up. "We should get going then."

 

"I want to come too!" Cream stood up abruptly. "I'm really worried about them and I want to see them and I won't get hurt or anything, I'll stay out of the way when there's fighting. I really will."

 

"I'm coming too," Eggman grumpily pushed away the bowl, glaring at the renmants of what only be considered food for non-sentient rabbits. "It's my base and I'm going to be there when that filthy kidnapping future self is gone!"

 

"Alright," Tails replied. "We'll all go. Besides, there's no way I'm leaving Eggman in my workshop. He might break things."

 

"That might be a wise decision," Eggman gritted his teeth, glaring at the little fox. Tails simply smirked.


	8. Chapter 8

Eclipsed Souls

 

Sonic began to stir from his sleep upon the cold floor contained within the glass tube, first twitching visibly before quickly leaping to his feet and opening his eyes. He looked around blearily and rubbed his eyes, waiting to come back to his senses and for his memory to catch up with him.

It all came back in a rush. Amy transformed, a weird Eggman who said something about being from the future, getting knocked out because he was foolish enough to fall for Amy's cheap trick. His face burning with shame as he remembered that painful slip-up, Sonic's gaze swung to the middle of the room where Future Eggman gazed at the tube of crystals, Amy standing nearby.

 

"Eggman!" Sonic slammed his hands against the glass tube he found himself contained in. "You're going to pay for this!" He kneeled on the ground and revved up in a spindash, releasing himself and then bouncing repeatedly off the sides of the tube.

 

"Ha ha ha," Future Eggman chuckled, watching as Sonic repeatedly rolled around the tube and then came to a halt in the center, swaying on the spot. "Do you really think I would put you in a tube you could just break out of?"

 

"Actually, yes," Sonic rubbed his sore head where it had impacted with the glass. "You were never the brightest chip on the block."

 

"Enough of your pathetic insults," Future Eggman snapped, as he reached into the tube and grasped a small black jewel. "Now that you are awake, Sonic, it's time to give you a little show. Are you ready?"

 

"Show?" Sonic swallowed nervously, his eyes fixed on the jewel as Future Eggman approached him slowly, jewel in his hand. Sonic backed away and pressed his back against the tube, his hands flattening against the glass behind him. "What kind of show are we talking about here?"

 

"The kind of show the Soul Crystal can show you," Future Eggman responded with a nasty smirk. "Your Soul Crystal from the future. I've already explained what it does to your girlfriend over there, I'm not going to explain it all over again."

 

"Soul... crystal?" Sonic said slowly, shaking his head in confusion. "Okay, yeah, I don't understand. But I'd rather not have a show, thanks."

 

"You don't have a choice, I'm afraid," Future Eggman raised his hand to the glass tube, holding the Soul Crystal level with Sonic's chest. "Soul Crystal, attach!" The Soul Crystal flew out of his fingers, slipped smoothly through the glass and latched itself onto Sonic's chest. Sonic yelped and instinctively tried to grab it and get it off himself.

 

Sonic's motion was cut short when a piercing jolt of pain sliced through his body. He let out a yell and spasmed as his entire body throbbed with agony. Two seconds later, Sonic fell to the ground as a wave of unconsciousness slipped over him.

 

Sonic found himself standing in the Mystic Ruins, somewhere close by Tails's workshop by the look of things. Something did not feel right however. How had he got here from the base? That was not the only thing, his body felt taller and awkward. A quick check assured him it was his own body, but different somehow.

 

"Hey, Sonic!" Amy's happy voice rang out, startling the hedgehog. Sonic felt a leap of relief at hearing her voice, he had to admit he had missed it ever since he discovered Amy going nuts and not even sounding the same anymore.

 

Sonic was alarmed when his own body moved by itself. It was then that he realised that he was not actually in control at all, he couldn't even waggle a finger if he wanted to. It was more like he was seeing things through someone else's eyes. His eyes. Yet... not. He looked up at Amy and was startled to see that she looked older. So that was it, he was seeing his future. That was what the crystal was doing.

 

"Uh... Amy," Sonic's mouth moved. He felt his future self's mild paranoia. Evidently, he would still find Amy frightening in the future. It oddly enough conflicted with Sonic's relief and happiness at seeing Amy completely normal. "You came all the way over here to see me?"

 

"You're not doing anything right now," Amy looked eagerly at him, her hands clasped together in that familiar hopeful stance. This was what she looked like right before she asked for something, which was usually a date.

 

And it was an invitation after all, as she announced her desire to see the new attraction at Twinkle Park with him. Sonic was startled, still paranoid about the idea of dating Amy, and he quickly came out with an excuse about why he couldn't go with her.

 

Sonic the spectator felt a twinge of guilt when Amy looked disappointed. He had just seen her transformed into something scary, a bitter heap of anger and resentment and would very happily take Amy anywhere once she was back to normal, if it at least meant she wouldn't go berserk anymore. And the sad little voice Amy spoke in as she promptly accused him of not liking her anymore made it worse.

 

"Whoah, whoah," Sonic suddenly exclaimed, feeling a different kind of panic now. "I'm telling the truth, really, I'm..."

 

A mechanical hum caught his attention, cutting him off mid-sentence, and a large robot landed on the ground, approaching the hedgehogs. Sonic instinctively slipped into his battle stance as he prepared to fight the robot. "Mission, exterminate the hedgehogs," The robot droned in a monotone voice. 

 

Amy popped out her hammer and angrily exclaimed, her face registering severe irritation. Evidently, the robot was about to receive the brunt of the fury she most likely felt towards Sonic for rejecting her invitiation. At least, that was the impression he got.

 

"I'll deal with this bucket of bolts!" Sonic waved a hand at her, urging her to stay away from the robot. "Stay back, Amy!" He promptly charged at the robot, hearing Amy mutter in annoyance. It seemed that he had just made her mood even worse. Sonic reached the robot and prepared for impact, but he was certainly not prepared for the hand that shot out and slammed into his stomach, a small barrel poking into the flesh.

 

The force of the push, added with Sonic's momentum, sent him flying backwards, his body registering a new source of pain in his stomach where the barrel had poked him. Sonic fell on his knees and looked down to see a brand new dart sticking out of his stomach. He swiftly wrenched the dart out, cursing Eggman for his stupid new tricks.

 

Sonic felt his entire body suddenly awash with pins and needles. It started off as a dull tingling, but became even more intense. While complaining about the tingling, he got to his feet and found that his movements were slower and jerkier. His body was beginning to feel like lead, lead that didn't want to be moved. This wasn't right. The panic came back, much stronger than it had been before.

 

"I'll help you, Sonic!" Amy ran at the robot, scolding it loudly for harming him. It raised a laser gun and fired a bright red laser by her ear. Amy stopped in her tracks, clutching her skinned ear, a pained expression on his face.

 

Sonic immediately tried to get in there and help Amy make mincemeat out of the robot, but then something occured to him and a slow feeling of dread settled inside him. He couldn't feel anything. He couldn't feel his own body. And if he couldn't feel anything...

 

I can't move...

 

I can't walk.

 

I can't even move my fingers!

 

Spectator Sonic would have found it ironic that his future self was suddenly feeling what HE felt, but he was currently occupied with feeling worried for Amy. Amy was in danger and he couldn't even move!

 

"Amy Rose will be exterminated at once," The robot spoke again, its monotone voice falling upon Sonic's ears like heavy rocks. "Sonic the Hedgehog, this is your last chance to save the girl."

 

No way.

You're kidding right?

You must be kidding!

How can I save her if I can't move?

 

Amy turned to look at Sonic and his spirit broke even more at the sight of her expression, which he only saw out the corner of his eye since his head wouldn't move either. She looked shocked, confused, and still quite irritated. Surely Amy didn't think that Sonic was keeping still on purpose? Didn't she realise what the dart had done to him?

 

Amy... run!

Get away!

I can't move...

Stop looking at me like that...

 

"Sonic?" Amy's querulous voice hurt, penetrating him just like the dart. "Sonic, why?"

 

A loud bang fired. Both Sonics screamed in unison in their minds as they saw Amy flying through the air, crimson fluid blossoming where the laser had struck her body. Sonic didn't see, but he heard the thud as Amy hit the ground.

 

Amy...

Amy?

 

There was no sound. Amy was completely silent. She didn't make any sounds to indicate that she was alive, neither did it seem that she was moving.

 

Amy...

Nooooo!

 

Still unable to move, Sonic could only watch as the robot approached Amy, disappearing out of his line of vision. When the robot appeared again, he held a black crystal in his hand. Sonic the spectator gasped audibly as he recognised that freaky crystal Eggman's future self had sicked on him. The robot lifted off the ground and flew away into the air, the mechanical hum fading away in the distance.

 

Sonic stood there for a whole hour in the desolate empty wilderness, unable to do anything more than sadly stare ahead at the scenery in front of him. It didn't seem the same anymore, the colours were no longer vibrant and pleasing, just dull and bleak. Eventually, feeling returned to his body and he fell to his knees, shuddering as his body could move again.

 

"Amy..." Sonic crept over to the fallen girl and picked her body up, cradling her in his arms. She was covered in blood and her eyes were shut tight. Her body was ice cold to the touch and she felt so light. "I'm so sorry... I couldn't save you..." A tear slipped out of his eye. "Eggman... how could you do this? Why did you do this? Why did you take Amy away from me?"

 

The scene faded out, and Sonic almost expected to return to his tube in Eggman's base now, but he found himself standing in the Mystic Rainforest, surrounded by fire. The entire jungle was consumed in flames. Sonic was bruised and tired, his breath coming out ragged. He looked up, his eyes streaming from the clouds of smoke that stung, and saw that a good portion of the cover of trees had been burned away. The Tornado flew overhead.

 

"Sonic!" Tails called out from the cockpit of the plane. "Hurry up and get on!" He threw a rope ladder down, careful to avoid the flames that hungrily licked away the trees. Sonic ran to grab the ladder and painfully climbed up, struggling onto the wing of the plane. Tails released the ladder, letting it fall to the ground, and the plane started flying towards a large building in one of the far corners of the jungle.

 

The plane was just passing over the ancient temple, when Tails yelled in shock. Large machines had risen up into the air and spat out several large missiles. It was an unexpected, deadly and accurate attack. One missile scraped alongside the belly of the tornado, ramming into the engine, and another two tore away the wings. Sonic was sent flying and landed on the soft soil. He looked up in horror as the Tornado spiralled downwards in smoke and flames, impacting sharply with the ground.

 

"Tails... Tails!" Sonic painfully limped towards the plane, realising that some shrapnel must have torn through one of his legs. He couldn't run, he couldn't get there in time... the Tornado had completely vanished in a cloud of smoke, flames billowing from the centre. Then there was an explosion. A giant orange inferno roared into the sky, the ground shook, and pieces of the Tornado went flying.

 

Sonic fell to the ground, feeling numb, as he stared at the flaming wreckage of the plane, where Tails was. He couldn't have survived the explosion. Tails was... he was dead...

 

Tails...

 

No...

 

Not Tails too...

 

"Tails!!!" Sonic screamed, his voice ringing out through the jungle. Several echoes bounced back to him, his voice reverbating over and over. He curled up in a ball, his arms wrapped around his legs and head pressed against knees, and rocked back and forth.

 

"Ahh, Sonic, are you ready to give up?"

 

Sonic raised his head to look up at Eggman, his vision blurred with tears of grief. He couldn't even bring himself to attack the evil doctor, he couldn't do anything. He had failed his friends, he was a failure.

 

"Fine, Eggman," Sonic said flatly, standing up, shaking wildly as he struggled to stay up. He felt weak and dizzy, he didn't want to stand up, he just wanted to fall down and stay there. "You win."

 

I'm hopeless...

 

I'm useless....

 

I failed everyone.

 

I'm no hero.

 

I'm just a failure.

 

The laser gun roared and the searing pain was the last thing he felt. The feeling of being released from life, it was almost blissful, when he had failed everyone and just given up.

 

Back in the present, Future Eggman smiled as he watched Sonic change within the tube. The Soul Crystal disappeared into Sonic's body and he changed slightly, the blue colour of his fur paling and his spikes drooping even more. Sonic slowly opened his eyes, now pale turquoise instead of emerald green, and he looked like someone who had lost all hope, who only had devastation and misery to live on.

 

Future Eggman threw back his head and laughed, feeling very proud of himself. Once again, he was triumphing over everyone.


	9. Chapter 9

Eclipsed Souls

 

"Come on out," Future Eggman beckoned, prodding a button fixed on the wall besides the tube. It slid up, allowing Sonic to exit. He walked slowly out, gazing warily around the room with his melancholy stare.

 

"Why?" Sonic spoke softly, standing still and gazing at his feet in a kind of horrified wonder. "Why am I here? I don't deserve to be..."

 

"Ahh, this is quite interesting," Future Eggman grinned, pacing around the sad hedgehog. "Instead of being angry like young Amy over there, you chose to sink into the depths of your sadness. This reminds me of the day I finally ended your miserable existence, you were so willing to let me end it."

 

"Ended it..." Sonic fell to his knees and sighed, shaking his head with weary sadness. "I deserved it... I let them die... Amy... Tails..." He raised a hand and drove it into the ground, clenched in a tight fist.

 

"It would be overkill for me to end your puny life again," Future Eggman shook his head. "But I have an even better idea. Amy is thirsting for revenge, aren't you?" He glanced over at the pale hedgehog standing in the corner of the room.

 

"Revenge..." Amy muttered, biting her lip and glaring at the curled up hedgehog. "Sonic let me die... I want him to feel pain..."

 

"Then make him feel pain," Future Eggman stepped away from Sonic, his mouth curling up into a malicious grin. "Punish Sonic! Sonic desires punishment!"

 

Amy obligingly approached Sonic, her eyes blazing with fury. Sonic looked morosely up at her, registering that she was about to hurt him, but he couldn't even run from the attack. He didn't have the willpower to move. Even if a small voice told him to stay away, he ignored it for the sake of getting what he deserved.

 

A flash of black lightning sent Sonic flying several feet. He lay stunned on the ground, limbs splayed out, just gazing ahead even as Amy advanced on him again. Her attacks came repeatedly, striking Sonic and causing him to fly each time. Sonic was beginning to ache all over and he was getting bruises, but still he couldn't fight back.

 

"Oh, you are so pathetic, Sonic!" Future Eggman cried out as Sonic continued to take the brunt of Amy's attacks. "You are being way too depressed, you might as well wear black, cut your wrists and listen to Link... what was that band called again?" He paused as he tried to recall the name of some band that existed in this timeline and had some reputation for being enjoyed by depressed people. "Linking Bark? That can't be it..."

 

"Why don't you do anything, Sonic?" Amy exclaimed as she repeatedly struck the hedgehog. Her eyes were beginning to well up with tears, but she couldn't understand if they were of sadness or anger. Seeing Sonic look even worse, his fur scuffed, several scorch marks on his fur, it was starting to hurt. The sadness in his eyes... she couldn't stand it. "Why don't you fight back? Why are you letting me hurt you?"

 

"Because... it's my fault... you're this way..." Sonic struggled to his knees, wincing in agony. He looked into Amy's eyes, his body quivering while he sat perfectly still. "If you can't forgive me... if you hate me so much... then I'll let you... do whatever you want to me... even if it hurts..." Sonic reached out slowly with a hand towards the tearful Amy. "But... I'm sorry for everything..." He suddenly pitched fowards as a bout of nausea claimed him.

 

"Sonic!" Amy fell to her knees in front of the hedgehog, tears flying to the ground, and she stopped him from hitting the ground. Suddenly, two dark beams of light shot from their chests and connected, causing them to be enveloped in a dark sphere. Inside the sphere, Sonic and Amy fell unconscious in each other's arms.

 

Sonic and Amy found themselves floating in what seemed like empty darkness. They hung suspended in the air, staring at each other with equally confused stares, and both hedgehogs looked normal, not like their transformed selves after Future Eggman used the Soul Crystals against them.

 

"What's happening?" Amy said wonderingly. "I don't understand..."

 

"Neither do I," Sonic waved his limbs around, finding himself unable to move. "Nothing makes any sense."

 

"Sonic..." A disembodied voice came out of Amy's mouth. She watched on in surprise as a projection of herself floated out of her body, yet this wasn't her, but the future self she had even seen die.

 

"Amy," Sonic's eyes widened as a projection of his future self also floated from his body and came to stand in front of the future Amy.

 

"I'm so sorry," Future Amy clasped her hands and looked down. "I didn't want to hurt you, Sonic, I really didn't. But as I died, all I could feel was the anger and sadness... it hurt so much. Why... why though? Why couldn't you save me? Did you want to?"

 

"Of course I did!" Future Sonic exclaimed loudly, causing Future Amy to jerk her head upwards and look at him in surprise. "How could you think I wouldn't want to? The dart that hit me, it paralysed me... I was unable to save you... do you have any idea how I felt? When you died... I felt like a part of me... a part of me died with you."

 

"Sonic..." Future Amy sniffled. "You really felt like that? When I died?"

 

"This is like being at the cinema and watching a creepy movie," Sonic whispered inaudibly to himself. Why was he having to stand here and watch his future self chat when he was supposed to be giving Eggman's future self a good kick up the rear?

 

"I blamed myself for what happened to you," Future Sonic spoke. "I ended up losing to Eggman. For all I know, the world was destroyed or taken over. I couldn't fight anymore, not when I lost Tails as well. I just gave up because I felt like a failure. I was at my lowest point."

 

"You're not a failure, Sonic!" Future Amy insisted, her eyes brimming with tears. "I know you're not a failure at all. Nothing happened because of you. You couldn't control what happened that day... you didn't know what would happen... if it was anybody's fault, it was mine, I died because I was careless, not because of you. You're not a failure at all, because... you're my hero." She smiled and reached out.

 

"Amy..." Future Sonic took her hand, smiling faintly. "I couldn't stop blaming myself completely... but knowing you forgive me... and don't blame me at all... that's enough for me."

 

The future hedgehogs drew together, their arms encircling each other's bodies.

 

"I can't blame you, Sonic," Future Amy whispered. "Even though I thought you hated me or something... I was so stupid..."

 

"I don't hate you at all," Future Sonic gazed into her eyes. "I don't just like you either... I realised too late... I love you, Amy. I felt so bad that I didn't get to tell you... when I realised it... because you were already..." He broke off and then kissed her full on the lips. They hung there kissing for several seconds, their arms tightening in love's embrace.

 

"Eww!" Sonic exclaimed, his face beetroot red. "I'm kissing Amy!"

 

"Aww!" Amy squealed. "Sonic loves me!"

 

"No, I don't! Not yet!" Sonic cried in protest. "Don't get any ideas in your head!"

 

The future hedgehogs floated up and away, disappearing into the darkness. Then a blinding white light appeared and washed over Sonic and Amy, pulling them out of the world of darkness.

 

The dark sphere around the hedgehogs disappeared and revealed them still holding each other as they had before the sphere covered them. Both hedgehogs were once again normal, the transformations entirely worn off. The Soul Crystals fell from their chests and clattered to the floor, both completely white.

 

"No!" Future Eggman cried in shock, eyes fixed fast upon the shining white jeweks. "The Soul Crystals have been purified? But how could this happen?"

 

"Eggman," Sonic got to his feet swiftly, his body now completely healed from the damage it had previously sustained thanks to the transformed Amy's attacks. "You're going to pay for everything you've done to us!"

 

"Yeah!" Amy jumped up next to him, her face contorted with anger. "You drove me to hurt my precious Sonic! That's completely unforgiveable!"

 

"Sonic!" Tails's exuberant voice came from the doorway and he rushed into the room, holding a satchel in his hand. "You're okay!"

 

"We haven't come too late, have we?" Knuckles followed him in, Cream scampering behind. "Wow, this place is a mess."

 

"My control room," Eggman grimaced as he looked around at the messed up room with assorted breakages, small holes and scorch marks everywhere. "Who did this to my control room?"

 

"You're late!" Sonic grinned, crossing his arms across his chest. "I was just about to end this once and for all."

 

"Oh no, you aren't," Future Eggman suddenly glowed with a dark aura. Amy made a gasping, choking sound and then a plume of black smoke poured out of her mouth, which was then absorbed into Future Eggman. "Do you realise why I had all these powers, where Amy got those powers of hers from? Well, now I'll show you the true power of Botrikon, the visitor from another planet!"

 

Suddenly, black bolts of lightning shot out of the aura around Future Eggman and struck everybody, paralysing them on the spot. Their screams of agony rang out through the room as Future Eggman laughed maniacally. "Suffer in pain, fools, enjoy your last moments of life as I extinguish your miserable existences!"

 

"I won't let you do that!" A black blur shot through the door and struck Future Eggman on the chest, causing him to fly against the wall. The lightning bolts faded away and the confused doctor blinked up at the newcomer, a black hedgehog who stood with a grim expression on his face.

 

"Shadow!" Sonic exclaimed in surprise. "You're here too?"

 

"We couldn't well miss out on the party," Rouge swung into the room, her wings flapping. She landed next to the dazed Knuckles. "Long time no see, Knuckles."

 

"Ugh..." Knuckles mumbled with a pained voice as he rubbed the back of his head and stared at the bat. "What, you came along as well, Rouge? I never even heard you following us."

 

"Now what kind of a spy would I be if you could hear me anyway?" Rouge winked.

 

"Now, show yourself, alien!" Shadow exclaimed, pointing a finger at Future Eggman. "Release the man you've been controlling right now!"


	10. Chapter 10

Eclipsed Souls

  
"Heh heh heh," Future Eggman laughed nastily as he stood up slowly, bracing himself against   
the wall. "So you realised that I was an alien lifeform possessing the old doctor, did you?"

  
"It wasn't so hard to figure out," Shadow scowled, giving Future Eggman a hard stare. "I   
originally spotted you entering Eggman's base a while back. I thought there was something   
odd about a cloaked figure. I watched, but you never left. I originally assumed that perhaps   
Eggman was keeping you here for some plan of his, but to be on the safe side, I got Rouge   
over here to help me out."

  
"With my expert treasure hunting skills, I could spy undetected the whole time," Rouge   
smirked. "I noticed the odd disappearance of the original Dr. Eggman and this cloaked figure   
was apparently his future self. But I realised something was off about this future Eggman.   
For one thing, he has these odd powers, and I also saw those eyes. Those eyes are not   
human."

  
"Rouge told me everything she learned and we were going to come over here and sort you out,   
but it looks like everybody else beat us to arriving," Shadow glanced around at the others.   
"Now release the future Dr. Eggman, alien, and we'll take pleasure in destroying you."

  
The old man suddenly went rigid, his body flattened against the wall, and a large black   
shape started to pour out of his body. It formed a smoking black mass above his head and two   
crimson oval eyes shone from the center.

  
"Very well," A deep ominous voice filtered out of the dark smoking object. "Now that I have   
been forced out and discovered, this vessel is useless to me." A clawed hand shot out of the   
smoke and plunged into Future Eggman's chest, tearing a gaping hole all the way through. The   
future Eggman groaned and fell to the floor in an increasing pool of blood.

  
"Ew!" Amy screamed and covered her eyes. Cream stared in horror at the sight, the whites of   
her eyes showing profusely. The young rabbit was too shocked by what she saw to even react.   
Shadow backed away, covering his nose and mouth with a hand in disgust.

  
"Oh no... that's not really going to happen to me, is it?" Eggman backed away, a worried   
expression on his face. "That looks like it really hurts!"

  
"That monster!" Knuckles shook his fists. "He uses somebody for his vile deeds, only to go   
and kill them when he no longer needs them! That's terrible!"

  
"It is useless to destroy me," The alien Botrikon hovered into the centre of the room,   
turning its pulsing crimson eyes on everybody. "I am a visitor from another planet in the   
future. Even if you destroyed me right now, I would still come in the future."

  
"Then tell us!" Sonic exclaimed through gritted teeth. "When do you come to our planet? What   
is it you do? Because we are going to prevent this from happening! None of us are going to   
die that early!"

  
"I come to this planet not many years from now," Botrikon responded sinisterly. "I came to   
Dr. Eggman and I asked him if he wanted help. He wanted world domination as usual and was   
certainly eager for aid. Except, he didn't expect me to actually take over his body, and I   
even overkilled the whole world domination thing. I destroyed your miserable world, and   
what's more, I enjoyed destroying it! And I shall destroy it again!"

  
"But you wanted to toy with us first before you destroyed anything," Amy spoke. "You got our   
souls in the future, inside the crystals, and you used them against us. You also gave that   
robot some of your power, didn't you?"

  
"Using my essence, yes," Botrikon hissed. "I can entrust various abilities upon lifeforms,   
whether biological or mechanical. And I took souls from those that I killed. All of you in   
this room, I took them. Many of your souls were darkened in rage or sadness, and I enjoy it.   
It makes me stronger... all the negative energy... I like to collect the negative energy of   
the dead in their souls. I desire it."

  
"Well, we're not giving you any!" Sonic broke into a run and curled up in a ball, propelling   
himself into the air and flying at Botrikon in a homing attack. He struck something solid   
and then bounced off, glancing in mid-air to see if he had done any apparent damage.

  
"So now you wish to begin combat," Botrikon threw a bolt of lightning at Sonic, which   
glanced off the speeding hedgehog. Sonic spiralled away, letting out a small shout of pain,   
and skidded across the floor, rubbing the place where he had been struck.

  
"Stop it with the lightning already!" Sonic cried out. "I'm not a lightning rod!"

  
"Take this!" Rouge spiralled down towards the alien, wings flapping in the air as she   
swiveled in a circular fashion. "Screw Kick!" Her foot impacted sharply with Botrikon and he   
sank several inches before grabbing Rouge's foot with a clawed hand. Rouge cried out as he   
flung her against the wall with a sharp crack and she sank to the ground with a dazed look   
in her eyes.

  
"This guy is too dangerous to use physical attacks against!" Tails cried out. "We've got to   
be careful how we attack him and time our moves just right."

  
"Or we can just do it like this," Shadow raised a hand. "Chaos Spear!" Several yellow   
streams of chaos energy poured rapidly down on Botrikon, who let out a hiss of pain. The   
alien retaliated with a blast of black plasma energy which struck Shadow and sent him   
skidding back a couple feet, contemptuously rubbing the area where he had been hit.

  
"He's got fast attacks," Knuckles commented from his spot besides the wall, where he was   
currently checking on Rouge. "You're going to have to hit and run with that thing."

  
"Stupid beast," Rouge hissed, rubbing her back with an agonised expression. "He could have   
broken my spine in half!"

  
"Don't move too much," Knuckles said anxiously. "You don't want to make it any worse."

  
"How nice of you to be so worried about me," Rouge smiled insiduously.

  
"Uh... ah... yeah," Knuckles flushed red then he suddenly exclaimed. "What? Of course I'm   
worried, the alien threw you into the wall like a ragdoll! Why wouldn't I be..."

  
"With more negative energy, my power grows," Botrikon suddenly lashed out with several   
tentacles that shot through the air. Everyone watched on cautiously, prepared to dodge what   
seemed like an attack, before realising that he was aiming at the Soul Crystals contained   
within the tube. The glass shattered and fell to the ground, as the alien began absorbing   
the black jewels. "You can't hope to defeat me!"

  
"No!" Amy cried out. "He's absorbing the negative energy contained within the souls that are   
contained in those crystals! The jewels are black because they represent the sadness and   
anger that everybody felt when they died."

  
"Then the alien just got a huge powerup," Sonic clenched his fists. "This isn't looking   
good."

  
"Don't be so pessimistic, Sonic!" Eggman exclaimed. "You've got to save the world from that   
monster! How can I rule the world if he destroys it?"

  
"Oh! That's right!" Tails held up the satchel proudly and began running towards Sonic. He   
didn't notice the stray cord lying taut across the floor and it snagged against his leg,   
tripping him up. The satchel went flying, the latch snapping open, and the contents spilled   
out. Tails cried out in horror as seven sparkling gems went clattering across the floor,   
dangerously close to the alien lifeform.

  
"Chaos Emeralds!" Sonic started running towards the gems, but a thick, black tentacle   
slammed into the ground right in front of him, causing him to fly backwards, momentarily   
stunned.

  
"So, these are legendary Chaos Emeralds," Botrikon stared intently at the powerful jewels.   
"I was never able to find them in the future, but I learned about them. Precious gems   
harnessing Chaos energy... I will have it."

  
"No!" Tails cried out, running to the Chaos Emeralds and flinging his body over them just as   
Botrikon tried to grab them with a clawed hand. The alien angrily grabbed the young fox,   
squeezing tightly, and then threw him into the wall. Tails curled up in a ball, moaning in   
pain.

  
"Tails!" Sonic ran over to check on him. "Are you okay?"

  
"I will not allow you to use the Chaos Emeralds!" Shadow lunged at the alien and struck him   
hard. Botrikon angrily swatted Shadow aside and then snatched up the Chaos Emeralds, pulling   
them into his body. Shadow tried attacking again, but the glow of the emeralds told him that   
it was too late to prevent him from absorbing energy.

  
"Negative energy... so much of it..." Botrikon started to grow, large legs protruding from   
the mass, ending in long, thick claws. A horned head appeared just outside the mass of   
pulsing smoke and scaly, black tentacles sprang from its body. A pulsing crimson centre   
could be seen glowing softly within the mist that covered its torso. The alien roared and   
slammed a fist into the floor, causing a gaping crater.

  
"I'm sorry..." Tails moaned. "It's my fault..."

  
"Don't blame yourself, Tails," Sonic insisted. "Besides, there's no way he can beat my Super   
form. You did the right thing bringing them over."

  
With a guttural roar, Botrikon dropped the Chaos Emeralds, which were now dull and grey, and   
he shot upwards through the roof, tearing the base apart and sending large chunks flying   
everywhere. The sounds of impact could be heard and the base shook as tremors spread through   
the building.

  
"He's attacking the base!" Knuckles cried out. "We've got to get out of here before he   
destroys it!"

  
"I'll go after that alien," Sonic rushed over to scoop up the Chaos Emeralds. "Everybody   
else, get out of here straight away." He closed his eyes and concentrated on pulling the   
positive energy out of the Chaos Emeralds. Within seconds, his blue fur had changed to   
yellow and a golden aura surrounded him. His eyes flew open, now a reddish-orange.

  
Without a moment's hesitation, Super Sonic sprang up and flew through the gaping hole in the   
roof, seeking out the alien. Botrikon was tearing through the base with its hands, smashing   
holes into the exterior and flinging large chunks over the land. Sonic clenched his hands   
and zoomed towards the alien, seeking out the ideal spot to strike. He noticed the red   
centre and aimed towards that. He hadn't been able to see it before, it had to mean   
something.

  
Sonic plunged into the hazy mist, a blue circle glowing around him to indicate that he was   
going at top speed, and he struck the red part, which seemed to be some kind of pulsing   
brain with assorted veins and lines running across it much like a human one. Botrikon   
screamed in agony and soared away, leaving Super Sonic to hang in the air.

  
"So the chase is on, huh?" Sonic watched the fleeing alien. "Oh no, he's heading in the   
direction of Station Square! I can't let that place be destroyed again." Sonic started   
hovering through the air, propelling himself with his legs to gain speed. Botrikon turned   
and fired black rays at Sonic, which he swiftly dodged. Once more, Sonic reached the alien   
and plowed into the red centre.

  
The fight proceeded like this for the next five minutes. As the battle went on, the alien   
became slower and an easier target for Sonic, and eventually with its power weakening, it   
fell into the sea with a large splash, just a kilometre away from the coast of Station   
Square. Sonic sighed in relief, hearing the cheers of people watching from the coast as they   
applauded their hero. He came to rest on the beach on his hands and knees, watching the sea   
carefully. However, the alien did not emerge.

  
"I guess I've done it," Sonic powered down, picking up the Chaos Emeralds that shone   
brightly again. "The complete power seems to be back in the Chaos Emeralds too. I'd better   
head back to the Mystic Ruins and make sure that everyone is okay."

  
Sonic arrived at the Mystic Ruins and found Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge and Cream   
inside Tails's workshop. Evidently, Eggman had slunk away to go and build a new base   
somehow.

  
"Sonic!" Amy squealed, rushing at Sonic and latching her arms around his neck with a happy   
grin on her face. "You made it back okay!"

  
"You got rid of the alien?" Shadow leaned against the wall, looking pensive.

  
"Yeah, that alien was no match for me!" Sonic grinned. "So, everyone's okay?"

  
"Apart from my back killing me," Rouge muttered sourly, lying on the couch with several   
cushions providing padding for her back. "That was humiliating having to be carried out of   
the base."

  
"I've got sore sides but otherwise I'm fine," Tails rubbed his side.

  
"Cream's been very quiet," Knuckles glanced at the young rabbit. "I guess what she saw was   
quite shocking for her."

  
"Chao," Cheese nuzzled Cream, who mechanically rubbed his back.

  
"I'll take her home to her mom in a while," Sonic looked down at Amy with a smile. "I'm glad   
you're okay, Amy."

  
"I'm sorry I hurt you back at the base," Amy looked guilty. "I don't remember much, I wasn't   
even in control, but I hurt you pretty bad."

  
"Don't feel bad about it," Sonic told her. "You couldn't help it. That wasn't really you at   
all."

  
"Yeah," Amy smiled. "I guess."

  
"Sonic..." Tails said worriedly. "You know the alien said it destroyed the world in the   
future? That's not going to happen, is it?"

  
"Hah," Shadow smirked. "The second that alien re-appears, we're just going to kick its butt   
again. And Eggman won't go making deals with something like that now he knows what it's   
capable of."

  
"We're definitely not going to end up losing," Sonic said firmly. "That alien won't stand a   
chance when it comes. Everything will be fine."

  
"And we'll really get to go to the new attraction at Twinkle Park?" Amy grabbed onto Sonic's   
arm and batted her eyelashes up at him. "Right?"

  
"We'll see..." Sonic said slowly, shiftily looking away. But really, he would probably end   
up going with her after all, it was a much nicer alternative to what he had seen in the   
future. And if his feelings were going to change to be anything like his future self's, he   
might as well.

  
"Yay!" Amy started rubbing her head happily against Sonic's chest. "I'm so happy!" A   
sweatdrop rolled slowly down Sonic's head and he assumed his familiar weary expression.

  
"Great," Sonic gently disengaged her. "If you're happy, I'm happy too." He strolled over and   
sat on a chair, leaning back and yawning before slipping his arms behind his head. "Whew,   
that was tiring. I got beaten up, saw my future, fought an alien and went Super all in one   
day. I don't want to do that again."

  
"Hey, Knuckles, why are you at the other end of the room?" Rouge turned her head to look at   
the red echidna. "You're not staying away from me, are you?"

  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Knuckles looked away.

  
"He's just like because he carried Rouge all the way out of the base and then Rouge went on   
about how she didn't need the help, and then they argued and now he's all embarassed," Tails   
smiled.

  
"I am not embarassed!" Knuckles exclaimed. "If that silly bat didn't need my help, she could   
just have said!"

  
"Oh, come on, you just wanted to hold me, didn't you?" Rouge said slyly. "Like a blushing   
bride."

  
"Shut up!" Knuckles shouted hotly, his face disappearing further into his arms. "That's...   
that's not true!"

  
Cream suddenly burst out giggling and put a hand over her mouth, looking amused.

  
"You're looking better, Cream," Amy smiled at the rabbit. "Let's go back to my apartment   
now, we've got to finish that cake."

  
"Cake?" Sonic's ears pricked up. "You made cake?"

  
"Um... yeah," Amy rubbed her head and chuckled ruefully. Great, now she had gone and given   
her surprise away. Well, she was just going to have to think of something else.


End file.
